Yes, hotseating is a useful skill. I tend to ask my characters what the hell they're doing in my head, what the devil they want, and why are they making me spend hours writing about them when I could be out working in a proper job.

JB

I used to do hot-seating when I taught GCSE English. What were your motivations for killing Banquo, Mr Macbeth?

hotseating

And year 7's studying Matilda (who told such DREADFUL lies) in Drama, the questions they asked were both insightful and hilarious.
Take care
Tracy

http://www.writewords.org.uk/forum/51_142281.asp?y=1&sterm=jill%20dawson%20workshop

Hi, folks - I've just found the original thread I posted about Jill Dawson's Character and Place Workshop, with all the questions to ask you characters that she suggested.
Jem x

Jem,
Thank you. One question caught my eye as I was copying the list and already I can think of how I could use the answer. Who knows where the rest will take me and him!
Take care
Tracy

Tracy - as a matter of interest which one was it?

The other one that helped me was 'Does your MC believe that humans are basically good or basically bad?' Since she is a Police Community Support Officer it's a fundamental question!

Tracy - as a matter of interest which one was it?

Jem,
It was '7 What s/he smell of?'
As he is a chef, and I am married to an ex-chef, I can confirm that it is different every day with curry lingering a little longer than most other dishes! I think it could either flame or quench the fires of passion!
Take care
Tracy

Curry I could cope with - chip fat not so much!

Yes, hotseating can work in both. I'm sure it's right that it has to be quickly. You're not trying to work out all those things as a biographer would, you're trying to bypass self-consciousness and rationality (aka Inner Critic and left brain) and find out what you 'all ready know', i.e. what your instincts (creative right brain) dictate.

Emma

Yes, Emma - that's what we did in the Jill Dawson workshop, just gave the answers really quickly. Works much better like that or you never come to any real decision about a character. A bit like starting to write a story on a blank screen. You've got to right something and the best thing for me is to shut my eyes and write the first thing that comes into my head because I know the first line will always ultimately be the very last line I write.

I agree completely with the shut-your-eyes-and-write thing. I know some writers don't like free writing (I suspect a lot of them say they don't like writing rubbish, when actually they're scared of what comes out, because it so much isn't rubbish) but this quick-fire-no-time-to-think stuff works the same way, and perhaps in a less threatening way. But if the list of questions doesn't appeal you can always writing 'Jane is...' at the top of a blank page, set the timer for 20 minutes, go back to writing 'Jane is' if the flow seems to dry up, and see what you get.

Emma